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So far, the first few weeks of 2013 have characterized it as the year aging action heroes have been dusted and wheeled out for their umpteenth go at creative mayhem. So far, in terms of box office performance, their respective flicks have sank from sight faster than the Titanic. (The actual ship mind you, not … Continue reading
For the past few years, writer-director and indie-film icon Steven Soderbergh has voiced his intent to retire from filmmaking, and has so far failed to make good on that threat. The past three years alone have seen him release of Haywire, Contagion, and Magic Mike — each an exceptional works in its own right. With … Continue reading
From its spoileriffic title through to its bizarre left-field climax, writer-director Don Coscarelli (Phantasm, Bubba Ho-Tep) gleefully taps into the irreverent, self-referencing tone of Big Trouble in Little China, Buckaroo Banzai, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and throws minor inconveniences such as coherence, linear storytelling, and plot plausibility under the bus in favor of rampant farce and cheap thrills … Continue reading
A fun and funny twist on the romantic comedy, Jonathan Levine’s (50/50) adaptation of Isaac Marion’s novel of love in the time of the zombie apocalypse makes more an unlikely but effective Valentine’s Day date flick, one that plays out like Romeo and Juliet in reverse. It’s hard not to feel some pity for the lad … Continue reading
Norwegian filmmaker Tommy Wirkola has made a name for himself by aping the works of others and blending disparate odds and ends and spinning them into offbeat features. He made his debut with Kill Buljo (a spoof of Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill); peaked with the brilliantly cheesy Dead Snow, a horror comedy with — wait … Continue reading
Charming but toothless, Quartet is genteel light dramedy marking the directorial debut of Dustin Hoffman. “I like to see what I can get away with,” the actor, 75, recently said in an interview with the Toronto Globe and Mail. You’d never guess it from his film’s overwhelming desire to play it safe. While it isn’t … Continue reading
Graced with a simple but rich premise, Mama starts off at a brisk pace but eventually runs out of energy and staggers through a perplexing conclusion that tries to be both happy and downbeat at the same time. Rookie director Andres Muschietti adapts his own Spanish-language short film, under the guiding hand of producer and … Continue reading
Cursed by bad-timing and a severe lack of originality, Ruben Fleischer’s Gangster Squad is every bit as generic as its title indicates. It’s certainly pretty to look as its glitzy visual recreation of Los Angeles circa 1949 drips sumptuously with glamour and period detail; however, the creativity ends there, with Fleischer wasting a top-notch cast in … Continue reading
With the riveting, compelling, and unshakably haunting Zero Dark Thirty, Kathryn Bigelow proves her historic Academy Award-winning The Hurt Locker was no fluke. She takes the heightened realism of that movie one step further here, tapping into the cinema verité feel of The Battle of Algiers for a dramatic retelling of the decade-long hunt for … Continue reading
Tom Hooper’s (The King’s Speech) extravagant movie adaptation of the long-running musical version of Victor Hugo’s tale of the haves and the have-nots, is systematically big, loud, splashy, and melodramatic — exactly what it should be, all things considered. Boasting big-budget opulence and a star-studded cast, it doesn’t radically re-interpret Les Misérables, but it does … Continue reading
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